Kiss or Promise
by provencepuss
Summary: this follows on from Sparkle's "Truth Dare" story. I had to reply didn't I?


**Kiss or Promise**

_Marty (aka Sparkle) wrote 'Truth or Dare' so I thought I'd complete the game!_

Dobey stepped out of his office and grunted. His two best officers were behaving like a couple of kids after a schoolyard scrap. Starsky was glowering and Hutch was looking bored.

"We just got word that the drug deal is going down after all…get over to the warehouse _NOW_"

Starsky sighed heavily and stood up pushing the chair back with a foot as he did so. He strode out of the squad room with Hutch struggling to keep up with him despite his longer legs. They made a comic pair sometimes. Starsky was maybe two inches shorter than his partner – but as Hutch stood at six-one neither man was exactly small. Starsky had a lean muscular body that stayed trim despite his unhealthy eating habits; he was a natural athlete despite his strange gait. Women found it sexy. Starsky strutted from the hips and an injury in Viet Nam made him seem bow-legged. It didn't stop him running fast enough to put a few Olympic sprinters to shame when he had to.

Hutch was lankier in build and his limbs moved with a smoothness that belied the fact that he had worked hard to get to the peak of fitness – and he had to keep up a fitness routine to stay at that level. His preferred diet was one of faddy health foods that helped him keep his weight under control. He could keep pace with Starsky when he had to – but he didn't have his partner's sudden acceleration.

So off they went down the hallway; Starsky stumping along and Hutch lengthening his stride as they went.

Starsky ran around to the driver's side, reaching into his pocket for his keys as he did. He opened the door and glanced at the street entrance of the Metro precinct; he sighed. _Come on, Blondie, move it!_

Not for the first time Hutch barely had time to slide into place and pull the door closed before the Torino pulled away from the curb with squealing tires.

Starsky accelerated throwing Hutch back against the seat. The blond swore under his breath and reached for the Mars light. Starsky threw him a warning look as he opened the window to put the red flasher on the roof of the car. It stayed there!

"I hope we aren't gonna have to sit outside that warehouse for too long." Hutch said grimly.

Starsky stayed silent for a moment then he grinned his big lop-sided grin and looked at Hutch out of the corner of big deep blue eyes.

"We could finish our game to bide the time." He said mischievously.

Hutch leaned back against the door and looked at his partner carefully. After playing 'Truth or Dare' and after Hutch had taken his revenge on Starsky for making him run round the car howling at the moon, he couldn't believe that his friend was willing to play again.

"I thought we finished it with you standing naked outside my door, Starsk." He said quietly.

"Nope."

"What do you mean, nope?"

"I mean no, we didn't finish the game. Don't you know the rest, Hutch?"

Now to be painfully honest the first time Hutch had ever played Truth or Dare was as a freshman in a college dorm. The game had never gotten beyond humiliating dares; and Hutch was more than often the victim of them. He missed a beat and smiled.

"No, I don't think I ever got that far."

"I'll bet you didn't." Starsky said in that even quiet voice that carried a menace capable of reducing the toughest criminal to admitting the truth.

Hutch waited.

Starsky drove in silence; but the smile playing on his mouth was beginning to worry Hutch.

_What on earth is he up to?_

Starsky parked in the same position that he had used for the past few nights. He cut the engine and the lights and turned to Hutch with a twinkle in his eye.

"You really don't know the rest do you?"

"No." _Oh my god what is he going to do? Last time I saw that look on his face he disappeared with that redhead at the party and they didn't reappear for two days!_

Starsky wriggled slightly and turned to look at Hutch. "You get a choice."

"What choice?"

"Do you really want to know? Are you really ready to go ahead with the rest of the game?"

"I guess I don't have a choice, right?"

"Sure you have a choice. You had a choice between truth and dare didn't you?"

"Yes." Hutch swallowed carefully.

"So now……" He didn't get the chance to finish. They could see headlamp beams approaching from around the corner. The two cops slid down in their seats and peered out of the windows.

"It's them. This time we got 'em." Starsky whispered.

They waited while the panel truck pulled up at the warehouse door; as soon as the doors had opened the truck slid into the building. At exactly the same time Starsky and Hutch opened the doors of the Torino. Starsky scuttled over to a window and peeped in. He nodded and beckoned with his gun to Hutch to join him. Hutch ran over to join him. There were three men inside and the deal was going down smoothly enough so far. One man opened a small suitcase and pulled out three bags of white powder. One of the others started the testing routine while his accomplice opened an attaché case that was filled with banknotes.

Starsky grinned at Hutch. "Wanna play with the snowmen?"

They stood either side of the side door to the warehouse; Hutch ready to go high and Starsky low. Starsky checked the safety on his gun and Hutch did the same. A near-imperceptible twitch of Starsky's eyes signaled 'ready?' Hutch nodded again and Starsky kicked the door just to the left of the handle. It flew open and the two cops ran into the warehouse taking advantage of the surprise. The seller tried to go for his gun – but Hutch winged him before he had a chance to draw a bead on Starsky. Starsky was already in hot pursuit of the other two. Hutch cuffed his prisoner to a pipe and took off after his partner. Starsky launched himself in a tackle that would have made a Super Bowl player proud and brought down one of the fleeing dealers; the other pulled his gun.

"Starsk!" Hutch yelled just as the shot echoed round the warehouse. The dealer fell to the ground clutching his leg. Starsky flipped his gun back into his holster and Hutch walked over to join him. They cuffed the two dealers together with Starsky's set of handcuffs; Starsky and walked out to wait for the ambulance that would take away the injured men.

"You ready to finish the game now?"

Hutch stopped. "Hey I thought that was to kill time. The stakeout's over!"

"Yeah…but we have to wait for the ambulance; and I haven't radioed yet." Starsky had that wicked grin on his face again.

Hutch resigned himself to what was coming. "Ok, so what is the rest of the game?"

"Simple," Starsky grinned. "I guess it's a bit of a dare too but what the hell…."

"A dare?"

"Hmmm."

"Get on with it Starsk."

But Starsky was radioing for the back up.

Hutch waited. He slid back into the car and made himself as comfortable as possible – he had a feeling it would be better to be sitting down when Starsky told him what was coming next.

Finally Starsky cut the mike and replaced it on its hook below the radio. He shifted his weight and leaned back in his seat.

"The game is Truth, Dare…..Kiss…or….Promise." He flashed another winning smile at Hutch.

"Now the question is….how am I going to play this?"

"What do you mean, how are _you _going to play this?" Hutch asked with his heart in his throat.

"Well since I have to teach you the game; I guess I have to lead the game, right?"

Hutch nodded. He figured they had about five minutes to kill before the ambulance arrived.

"So it's Kiss or Promise, is that right?"

"Yeah."

"And I get to choose?"

"Nope!"

_Oh no!_

"Ok get on with it then; choose." _He wouldn't, surely he won't…."_

But he did.

"Kiss….and if you do it quickly I promise not to tell!"

Hutch gave him a dirty look.

"I hear a siren." Starsky said with a grin. "You wanna do it in front of witnesses?"

Hutch reached across the car and grabbed Starsky behind his head. He pulled him across the gap between the bucket seats and drew his face close so that he could see his own reflection in those eyes as blue as the deepest ocean. He put his hands firmly on Starsky's cheeks and leaned forward to kiss him firmly on the mouth.

"And I promise you David Starsky that if you ever whisper a word about this I'll…."

Starsky's chuckle was infectious and Hutch couldn't finish his threat.


End file.
